How You Can Help

Both Project Red and Families in Transition are always open to help from the public, and other school districts across the state have similar programs that need public support. For Families in Transition, it is possible to donate online, which goes directly to the students and families experiencing homelessness in the program. Project Red also provides a way for the public to donate online, and the money goes to future events, supplies, charities, and supporting the nonprofit’s operations. Project Red is also open to volunteers, and though most volunteers are students, it is open to adults as well. Plus, Project Red offers internships.

There are several ways to report suspected human trafficking, including contacting federal law enforcement by calling (866) DHS2-ICE, or by submitting a tip online at ice.gov/tips. Trafficking victims are urged to call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at (888) 373-7888 or text 233733.

The Texas Human Trafficking Resource Center also has a variety of resources available, including online chat through the Human Trafficking Hotline Web Chat.

Viramontes observes that right now there is a lack of hard data regarding homelessness in LGBTQ+ youth. However, the National Coalition for the Homeless estimates about 40% of the homeless youth population across the country identifies as LGBTQ+. This is in contrast to the 10% of general youth population who identify as LGBTQ+.

“It’s kind of hard to track that part of it,” she says. “We’re still missing the fact that LGBTQIA are hugely vulnerable in the homeless population and highly at-risk of getting kicked out of their homes.”

The Project Red team conducts a canned food and clothing drive as part of Project Camouflage, which began in December 2022 to provide food and clothing for students to help them “camouflage” into their school environment. The project resulted in the collection of more than 3,000 canned goods.

Still, programs and organizations such as Round Rock ISD’s Families in Transition and Project Red are not giving up on providing aid and relief for those experiencing homelessness, no matter the cause.

Extending A Helping Hand

Project Red is a student-run organization located in Round Rock founded by two students, Jishnu Saani and Andrew Vu.

One of their projects, Project FirstAid, provided first-aid kits to those who are homeless. After receiving donations, Project Red was able to coordinate with the Salvation Army to distribute these first-aid kits. The project started slow as both Saani and Vu encountered obstacles and unintended consequences.

“We would make these custom first-aid kits for each of these different (seasonal) situations,” Saani says. “One crucial thing we learned from this drive is these kits may not be used for the best purposes. The majority of homeless people are addicted to certain kinds of drugs, and although these kits are intended to get them out of this cycle of homelessness, it kind of did the opposite.”

The kits contained alcohol wipes, which are sometimes used to disinfect an area before applying drugs.

“That was a bummer,” Saani says. “Our intentions were being reversed, and we did not want to contribute to the problem. So we immediately halted operations.”

Although the project hit a roadblock, Saani and Vu continued in their efforts to help homeless individuals. This includes their most recent project, Project Camouflage. The idea behind the project was to help homeless students during the winter with food and clothes that would help continued on page 32

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